Using new Corvette’s valet-recording tech could be a felony in some states

GM is sending updated software to make Valet Mode less legally questionable.

Over the past few months, General Motors and its Chevrolet dealerships have been selling the 2015 Corvette with an interesting feature called Valet Mode. Valet Mode records audio, video, and driving statistics of the person in the driver's seat when the driver isn't around, thus keeping low-life valets from being too loose with their filthy mitts while inside a Corvette owner's fancy car.

Trouble is that in a handful of states, using Valet Mode might be considered a felony.

Federal wiretapping laws generally require only one party to consent to a recording of an interaction. But in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, all parties involved in the recording must either consent to a recording or at least be aware that the recording is happening, depending on the state. So if a Corvette owner turns on Valet Mode in California and turns the car over to the unknowing attendant, that Corvette owner could be committing a felony.

There are exceptions to the law—as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press notes, “It is always legal to record or film a face-to-face interview when your recorder or camera is in plain view. In these instances, the consent of all parties is presumed.” But GM seems to be worried that the audio recording equipment in particular is sufficiently unnoticeable in its cars as to constitute a legal problem.

GM sent letters to its Chevrolet dealerships this week, urging sales people to tell 2015 Corvette owners not to use the Valet Mode function until an update has been issued, which will come “in the near future.” GM has also sent letters to people who have already purchased 2015 Corvettes, in which it writes, “To help you use the Valet Mode consistent to legal requirements that pertain to audio recording devices, we will be issuing a very important update to your system in the near future. We plan to provide additional details about this update in the coming weeks.”

Corvette Blogger speculates that the update might notify the valet of the recording equipment. “We can imagine that the update will have some sort of notice, either audible or on-screen, that will notify whoever is in the vehicle that the car is in valet mode and what they say is being recorded. We might even see some sort of consent that would need to be given by an occupant in the vehicle like clicking an OK box on the infotainment center’s screen for the audio portion of the system to work as designed.”

Ars has contacted GM and Chevrolet but has not yet received a response.

Inconsistency in recording laws across the United States is often a source of confusion and sometimes dramatic fines. In 2011, Police in Massachusetts argued that recording from a cell phone constitutes a “secret recording.” In another notable case, a Nebraska mother and grandfather were fined $120,000 for bugging their child's teddy bear, which the child took to a day care center where none of the recorded persons (including the child) had consented to the recordings.

While new Corvette owners may not get the thrill of discovering that the kid at the valet pulled a Ferris Bueller (although sure, that was with a Ferrari), the system will still likely work as a deterrent to too much fun being had.